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5/26/2014

Good afternoon and Happy Memorial Day. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say a heartfelt "Thank You" to any member of the military service who may visit here.Likewise to those bloggers who visit & who have family members who served our country. It is an awesome sacrifice of years of their lives - and truly sometimes their lives - given so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do today. This freedom has come at a huge price.

In my immediate family, my Dad, my 5 brothers & my DH - all served in various branches of the military (with the Navy being strongly represented). In succeeding generations some of the grandsons have also been part of the military. While it was a sacrifice of their lives & time, it's also very difficult to be the ones waiting at home. You wonder if they are safe, and pray that they will be. And miss them terribly, while being so proud they are doing their duty.

So today is a fitting time to take a moment & just say Thank You to a Vet, (or indeed, anyone who has served our country's freedoms in some way). And to remember all those who didn't get to come home to their loved ones.

5/18/2014

Good evening, and hope that your weekend was just grand. We had some much cooler weather, a bit of rain, but otherwise, all was quiet. I'm still recuperating from my allergy attack and trying to get my energy back.

The challenge over at the Christmas Card Club for this time was chosen by our Miss Zoe: A button, 3 brads and 1 other accessory. With those thoughts in mind, here's the card I created:

- Image is a fairly largish, old wooden Magenta stamp. Used Memento Blue Danube and Paris Dusk to ink up the rubber (added Paris Dusk after seeing the Blue Danube didn't appear as dark as needed). Used Bonnie's Best stamp press to ink the image onto the paper, and it worked well to get clear crisp details of the stamp.

- die cut with largest die of S/B Majestic Labels Eight- which removed some of the edge details of the stamped image. Used a finger dauber to smudge some Paris Dusk on the outer edges of the die cut, to give a bit of definition as I didn't want to add a mat to this already large piece. Mounted on foam tape.

- 3 tiny white brads in the upper left corner.

- 2 score lines at the bottom of the navy card base; 2 bands of narrow white grosgrain ribbon added between the score lines. Blue 'crystal' button from the old button box stash, added some white twine as a small bow, with a blue rhinestone in the center.

- additional accessory was the stamped SU sentiment, punched with a SU punch, 2 blue rhinestones for trim. Pretty simple card, and this image is a NBUS.

The Christmas Club Card members are listed in the side bar, so if you have time, check out some of the other members' cards for this week's challenge.

Thanks for popping in this evening for a visit, and many thanks for all the comments wishing me a fast recuperation. Very much appreciated. I'm on meds, but may have to get back to the doctor for the usual antibiotic and prednisone, which I've been trying to avoid. Wishing you a lovely week, with great weather, fun things to do with your time. I'll be back as soon as energy levels allow. Hugs & God Bless.

5/17/2014

Good evening, and sorry to be MIA again. Have been under the weather all week (Wednesday was a pre-scheduled post). Lots of lovely bloggers have been so kind to leave such sweet comments in the last few days. I promise I'll do my best to get back to visit each of you as soon as I feel up to it once again. Am hoping to get a card done this evening to meet my Christmas Club commitment due tomorrow. Right now, just struggling to get my energy back up to par.

The above picture was sent to me by Blogger Buddy Donna E of Creative Smiles. She saw it and sent it along to me, saying it made her think of me. Now how sweet can somebody be? Needless to say, this beautiful picture is set as desk wallpaper so that we can enjoy it each time we walk into the computer room. Thanks so much Donna.

Now will end this post by hoping that all of you lovely people are having a fine weekend. We got a little cooler weather starting yesterday, and have had some rain, some thunderstorms too.

5/11/2014

Good evening. Happy Mother's Day to all those Mothers who might see this post tonight. Intentions were to post this earlier today, but alas, didn't happen. Other things got in the way, one of which was DSIL coming down to take me to lunch. (He lives locally; DD lives in So. Fla . A job, houses that can't be sold just now- things of that sort - make it not financially feasible for her to relocate just now. His job takes him south several times during the month. Not a situation that makes this Mama very happy; but whaddaya gonna do?). DD just called so that made my day brighter.

Here's the card and apologies it didn't get posted much earlier:

- PSX image found recently, had been colored with copics. Went back over the tulips to get more contrast, added some clear WoStella to the flowers, silver WoStella to the bucket. Die cut with S/B Label 12, DI spun sugar smudged around the die.

- MB Geneva vine, using the white cardstock of a birthday card sent by our insurance company. Colored the vine with WoLuna green, and copic R81 & R83 used for the tulip flowers. The colored die cut was separated into 3 different sections to fit where needed.

- Background DP from a 6x6 pad.

- Offray white lace tinted by using few drops of R81 refill ink in a bag, smooshing. This lace took quite a bit of ink. The cotton lace really soaked up the ink.

I hope that all the Mothers (and everyone else) had a wonderfully happy day. Our air conditioning finally had to go on. Set the thermostat lowered than we normally have it, left for the late lunch. It was quite cool when we came home again. DH headed for the recliner. Our DSIL took a love seat from our basement room - where all my stamp stuff is - so I have a worse mess now than before. I had thought to go do some rearranging - but - a nap seemed a better idea. It was Mother's Day, I'm a Mother, and so.......

5/08/2014

Good evening and where did this week go? Zip, that's where. Looking back over the days, not sure exactly what productive things we've accomplished, but gosh, there _must_ have been some!

The card shared tonight was supposed to have gone in the mail by Wednesday. Alas, it did not make it. This is another image, found during the snippet cleanup, and already colored. I stamped out a portion of the motif to add some extra petals for dimension. The original was stamped in Rich Cocoa, but I used Gray Flannel for the extra petals.

﻿

- Old Hero Arts wooden dogwood stamp. Colored with copics, die cut with the Lil Inker Square stax. Used DI Spun Sugar, Sage and then ?Pumice? just to darken the corners. Stamped part of the stamp with Gray Flannel onto a white snippet, and had to experiment to match the pink colors done earlier. R81 & 83 worked. Tried R85 in one place, and it was much too dark.

- CL Doily die on some script paper, using only half the die cut.

- snippet of DCWV green pattern paper, embossed with a new Mbossibility folder.(don't remember the name, but can provide info).

The first photo has a yellow tone, but the enlarged photo below reflects the color more accurately. Done with the same camera, no setting changes either!

Hopefully the cropped view will show the raised dimension a bit better. Added clear WoStella on some leaves & petals. Yellow rhinestones added for centers. (after I used a Viva Gold Pearl pen and didn't get very nice results. Blame to the Operator, not the pen.). Loving those Lil Inker dies too.

Have colored this stamp before, using yellow greens instead of pinks. The greens over a gray stamping, looked very delicate & pretty. I like this color combo ok, but think I like the yellow greens much better. That one had darker leaves too, as the image needed some strong contrast.

Since this card has a few snippets, and since I have been an absentee playmate lately, I'm taking this over to Pixie's Snippet Playground, Week 123. The linky widget is still open for 33 hours, so you've time to hunt up a snippet or 2, and come play with a lovely, talented group of cardmakers.

Ya'll have a wonderful evening, Happy Friday, and as always, thanks so much for looking in. Many Hugs & Blessings too.

5/06/2014

Good morning. No card on this post - just wanted to share an experiment done with the Wink of Luna pens that arrived in Saturday's mail. From order placement to receiving, 3 days ship time. Great!

Dug out some outline stickers - and think these are probably purchased from H/Lobby...they are not the nice Elizabeth Craft stickers. These were quite old, and were difficult to remove from the backing paper. Once outlines were finally placed on the black paper, it was a good way to test the Lunas.

I can already tell I'm going to love these pens. It took me a bit of time to get the color flowing down into the brush tip. If you have any of the W.o.Stella pens, you'll understand what I mean. A center black circular cap must be removed, the ink section gets pierced with a little nib when the 2 sections are put back together; squeeze gently to get the ink flowing down in the section that holds the brush tip. The Luna pens seemed to take more fiddling to get the ink going than did the Stellas, but that's probably Operator Error. I didn't want to get blobs dripping out of the brush, waste this ink, as happened with first use of prepping a Stella pen.

Was very pleased with the results here (aside from the red going over the gold outline. Which according to the SMS video, can be fixed, but this was just a test piece so didn't bother). The blue color was the first try and I was really taken with the brilliance of that color on initial layer. Red & purple were quite faint, as was the lighter green. Gold, silver, copper were better with just a single layer. Layering each section, sometimes using a different color, the tones got brighter & brighter. Each overlay covers the under layer very well - so if you didn't like the first color, you can change it. This effect reminds of me of the enameled costume jewelry I've seen.

Enlarged the butterfly to give a better idea of the intensity of color of the pens. Some of the interconnecting lines on the sticker tore in removal..so this has to just be a test piece. Hence all the different colors of this little insect...just wanted to see how each color looked.

For what it's worth, my review of these new Metallic pens is that they will be an excellent tool to add to your stash of toys!

5/05/2014

Welcome & today I'll share a few pictures of yesterday's family reunion (promise...no people pictures!). It was such a glorious day, and unfortunately our host cousins decided to have the gathering at the old family church Fellowship Hall. I was disappointed, but I certainly understood that it was easier on them. When it's held at The Home Place - as previously done in nice weather - they have all the work of setting up tables, chairs, etc. At the Fellowship Hall, all the tables are already arranged by the church crew, and all that needs be done, is put out the food, and then tidy up when we are done. We still had a good time, and of course we visited the cemetery to hunt for loved ones. That used to bother me a bit, but my parents have been gone for 18 years now, so it's not so emotional for me. Usually. And it's always interesting to go find sites of other relatives not so closely linked to me. My great-great grandparents are there, my great grandmother and of course my Dad's parents & one of his brothers are sleeping right behind the church walls. My husband always thinks we ought not to 'be morbid' as he puts it, but to me, it's just a visit to say Hello and hope somehow that they know they are always in my heart. As one of my cousins who refuses to do this, reminded me "They are not THERE". Well, I know that!

I've always thought this was a very old-fashioned looking church. When it was first built, in mid-1800's I think - it was white clapboard. Since there were graves from the 1700's, there must have been an earlier building too. Over time, as the congregation increased (and collection plates were more generous!) - the church façade was bricked. Only the center portion was the original church. I can remember when it was just that part, but only have seen pictures of when it was wooden. Again over time, wings were added as the congregation grew. It's very peaceful in the interior with some lovely stained glass windows. When the Fellowship Hall was being remodeled & enlarged, church members found a beautiful old stained glass window that had originally been over the altar. I'm not sure what final decision was made on how best to place this memorabilia where it could be best enjoyed. You can see the blue sky, how green the trees are, and I was standing out in the grove of very old trees that are in front of this church, to take the pictures. (see the shadows on the asphalt). At one time, the doors would be open so visitors could come inside, say a prayer or whatever. Sadly, that's no longer possible. There's a wonderful steeple with a cross at the top of the main portion.

This view shows the wonderful trees that surround the back edges of the cemetery. At the very back, there is a wood, with a dirt path that goes back to the Home Place. My grandparents walked that path to attend church, as did my brothers when they were young lads at the farm with Grandma. Some of the headstones are circa 1700's. It is heartbreaking to see so many tiny stones of children & read their ages if the inscription is readable. High infant & child mortality in those days. There are lots of unmarked graves in the center of the cemetery, where the stones were of some soft blue-gray slate type material. I can remember those looking so tipsy & crooked when I was a very young child, tagging along when Daddy took his Mother to clean the graves on Memorial Day. (probably a Southern thing.) Now I think professional crews do this type of thing, but back in the late 40's, that was done by relatives. Over time these stones had eroded and fallen down. Since the area is maintained by a crew it became too labor intensive to care for the areas where these stones were, so they were removed. The church records keep the names of those buried there (but not all, according to my cousin. Some of the stones were totally illegible and records were not so complete for that time period).The area is a cleared grassy spot so as to be easily mowed & clipped. There is a small in-ground memorial stone for a marker. Most visitors know the story, so one does not just walk across this area. Another area has been turned into a memorial site for deceased members of this church who were veterans. Time didn't allow us to visit that, but I understand it is a memorial plaque with names, pertinent dates & service branch. Cemetaries can be quite depressing I realize, but we have visited some really old ones in our travels, and I've always thought this particular one is quite peaceful. Even when there's no one I love resting therein, I've always found it interesting to see the old stones, read the dates and the inscriptions.

My cousin who hosted the reunion, is a quilter. We come from a family that had lots of quilters. I used to be a quilter! (Translation: I bought fabric as I now buy stamping supplies). I pieced some tops, but only ever finished quilting some throws, nothing bed-sized. Cousin P. knows I love old quilts. She brought over one that she has which was a marriage gift to her mother (my Dad's baby sister). All the family quilters gathered at a quilting bee, and each prepared a block. They chose the pattern, fabric and signed their names, then embroidered the signature. I found the block Mama had done, (got a little choked up as I was looking at the photo just now), as well as the center block, (Mother) done by my Grandmother. I think my aunt married in 1936. Most of the fabrics used were from feed sacks. In case you may not know that meaning: Farmers long ago, bought grain, flour, seed - in sacks that were made of very pretty calico prints. As a USA quilter, I know the value of feed sack material (and I can usually tell if it's 'real' or a reproduction too!). I knew that the fabrics in this quilt were real & had been washed to remove all the original 'stuff' that may have been in the material - probably using a washboard & tub outside, over a fire. The quilt backing still had the faded logo in places. Someone apparently had dyed all the backing fabric used to be a single color of what was perhaps a tan color. Over time, it's patina'd into something that looks like a coffee stain brown.

Mama's block, top right

Grandma's Block for her daughter's wedding quilt

As we were taking pictures, I realized all of us were using flash, and said "Wait! Everybody, set your flash off. Light is really bad for an old quilt like this". So that's why the color on this picture is not so nice as the 2 above. I asked my cousin how she is storing this treasure. She said "Oh I have it hanging over a door". Since I was already fighting with myself not to covet, I then had to zip it to not offer proper storage advice on old fragile quilts. Her quilt -- her choice as to how she cares for it. And she's a quilter, so she knows more than I do about antique quilts! *

*Forgot to mention. The edges of the quilt had become raggedy as it was used for warmth, not just for looks. Cousin P. added a new binding, which of course would devalue this for a collector. For us it's a family heirloom, which is priceless.

One amusing reunion story: I sat with my brothers & their wives, and my husband at one end of a table. A fella that I knew was a cousin of some sort - and I knew exactly which family he belonged to - sat across from me. We chatted, but I could not think of his name. I knew that he was one of my late 1st cousin's boys, and I knew which one he was not! (the 2 that I could remember are deceased). But I couldn't think of his name to save my life. I'm pretty sure he didn't know me either, but he knew I belonged with the 2 fellas (my brothers) that he did know!! It's really strange to think I attended these reunions as a kid, and now my generation is the OLDER generation. I expect when our group of cousins are gone, this event will cease. A shame, because it's a lovely way to enjoy old family memories. And we did. Some laughing & happy, some not so much.

Hope I haven't bored you to tears! Thanks for visiting and letting me reminisce (I had to look up the spelling of that one!!!) Hugs. Happy afternoon.﻿

5/04/2014

Hello and welcome, hope that your day has started off in sunshine & happiness. If not sunshine, then at least in happiness!

There's a very talented group of ladies who 'meet' every 2 wks to share Christmas cards (you can see their names on the right sidebar of this blog. If you have time, pay a visit and see some Christmas happy to get you through the day, plus some intensive inspiration too). This week it was Miss Karen B's turn to choose the theme; she selected Poinsettias.

My recent snippet cleanup uncovered a box of stamped (and precolored) images, so fortunately there were a couple of Stampin Up Poinsettias colored...just waiting for a card. Equally fortunately, I had just received my order from Lil Inker which had the stitched oval die which I have been drooling for, ever since seeing Miss Bonnie use one of these dies.

Here's the card I am sharing today:

- SU Christmas poinsettia (my stamp, sorry I don't remember the set name, but can provide info if you're interested). One image fussy cut to provide some layered dimension.

- DCWV Christmas pack DP, embossed with Darice Oblong Doily EF, after using the Lil Inker stitched oval that was the appropriate size for the window.

- Delicata Golden Glitz around the embossing (which I wished undone after seeing results! The idea was to get the embossing to show better. Don't like it and plan to redo this card design using plain white c/s with this folder). Lesson learned: this particular paper will be much better with no embossing. It's also not sandable, so that another layer would show under the embossing. Fine line gold Pentel Sticci pen (Hobby Lobby art section) outlined the stitching round the oval. I'm always on the hunt for good fine line gold and silver pens. Will see if this one will dries as quickly as some I've used.

- Starform stickers

Much later:

OK...Part 2! We're back home from the reunion (and it was most pleasant but more about that in another post).

I was so disappointed in #1 card. Since I had some more uncolored Poinsettia images handy, colored 2 more. Airbrushed the background on the base image, fussy cut elements from second image to pop up for dimension. Used the same design, but changed the patterned dp to just plain white. I did use a dauber to put the gold ink onto the EF rather than trying to sponge it around on the cardstock. I wanted to bring out the pretty oval design of the folder and the stitching round the die cut. What you think?

Definitely liked this one much, much better. (After seeing the photo, the tail end of the sticker seems to be floating upward. Will have to try to ease it back down evenly. Obviously it's not as noticeable on the card, but it sure is in the picture).

Thanks for joining me this evening. I'm off to see what my fellow Christmas Club members shared for Karen's Poinsettia Challenge. Ya'll have a great evening. Hugs.

Good morning - welcome. This is going to be a scheduled post, as we will be on our way to a family reunion up in North Carolina (my Dad's side). If the day is pleasant, it will be held at what our family calls 'The Home Place'. My grandparents bought the property & built the house - in the very late 19th century. All of their children, except for my oldest aunt, were born at the house, and one of my cousins now owns it. Of course it doesn't look as it did back then. My folks lived in the house at various times, and my brothers share many happy stories of being little boys growing up & playing around in the fields & woods. Behind the house quite a way, (through the meadow as the brothers would say)...there is a very old cemetery behind what was/still is for some of the relatives, an old family church. My parents, grandparents, great grandmother- 2 brothers, lots of uncles & aunts & many other relatives, sleep peacefully. If one can say this about a cemetery, it's very pleasant..with woods surrounding it & the church at the front of it. It's peacefully quite but lots of bird song echoes from the trees every time I've ever walked around, hunting for graves of those I love. Even my Mama's great grandparents are buried there, although most of her side are all buried elsewhere in the county. If it's cold or rainy, we have our gathering in the old church's Fellowship Hall.

Normally today I'd be sharing a Christmas Club card - but that will have to be linked tomorrow. A post for another day. During the recent snippet sort out, some class cards turned up, and I don't think I've shared these here before. Our local scrapbook/stamp store in Spartanburg hosts a lovely class by Linda Bradbury, 3X the Design...usually at least 2 times per year. I've been fortunate to be able to take a few of the classes and they are always lots of fun. Supplies are provided, you make 3 cards (I'm slow so I'm always the last to finish). You can buy packaged kits and complete written instructions are provided with the class materials. Should you not be able to take the class, the kits are available for sale in limited quantities. In my sorting, several kits of classes I had to miss turned up.

- a front folding card, with papers I would never have selected to combine, but they coordinated beautifully together & with the stamp used (think it's a floral Hero Arts - I have the stamp if you want specifics). Burlap flower embellie. Leaves were cut in class, but the border & trim were precut for us. We did the stamping, quick copic coloring, and put the card together.

- side fold card, you can see the same supplies were used to create a different look.

Here's the inside of this card:

The folding rectangle & mat on the inside has additional paper adhered to the card stock. Only the back side of the rectangle adheres to the card base after trims put down. This additional paper has room to add a message. One other thing I like about this card: Where the sentiment is, that piece is glued on 2 sides & the bottom. You can slip a little card in the top opening with your signature - or a small message (leaving the inside paper blank). The recipient can re-use the card if they wish, by simply removing your tucked in bit. I really like that idea.

- Again, the same materials used on a different fold version of the card. The top trim is an MS pansy border punch. This looks so lacey - primarily due to the design paper. The small strip which has been used as the slim border behind the stamp gives a better idea of what the pattern paper looks like.

This was a fun class, and I had forgotten about these cards. I liked the papers so much, I bought them and the stamp. Now, all I need do, is find them in my paper mess.

5/02/2014

Happy Friday afternoon on another glorious sunny day. Started off rather cool but warmed nicely by mid afternoon. I had to be out early for lab work that I missed yesterday. My veins are difficult to find. The lab tech who was so expert at doing this for years in our doctor's office, had retired since my last visit. Wasn't sure what to expect this morning, but the youngster replacement did a super job. (I say youngster, she's got 3 kids and prob'ly in her mid 30's or older. But a youngster to me at any rate!). She was very pleasant and it was practically painless.

Warm welcomes extended to Miss Anne of Stamps and Paper who has become my latest follower. We met at the Snippets Playground. There's the nicest & most talented folks who hang out there, so if you've never had the pleasure of a visit there, you really should take time to check it out. Fun place. Lots of inspiration.

In the recent snippet cleanup, I found a bunch of stamped images from ?who knows how long ago? - way back when I was in a Thursday stamping group. Today's card was done from a discovery of stamped images - don't know who owned the stamp. My photography is terrible, because I was really pleased with the willow buds IRL but the colors just don't show up nicely in the photo. This was a pretty fast card to make up too. (and I don't work fast either :) )

- House Mouse design (guess it could be a snippet? It's found in the stash!). Love these cuties, but never feel that I do justice to coloring the mouse if I use brown family colors. Normally I reach for the copic grays. I tried again with the earthtones, then blended using the gray. S/Binder die cut, edged with a gold copic - which really looks more like a mustard color to me. I didn't want to mat this die cut, but it needed some definition at the edges.

- started with R0000 on the stems & buds. Came back along some areas of the stem with some pale YG and then blended in darker grays. On the buds & 'blossoms' did the same pinks & YG (not blending - just added touches of color), then blended with a C00. In the shadow part I added C02. Used a silver Wink of Stella over the blossoms, and they sparkle like dew. I'm disappointed the photo didn't capture this.

- butterflies were from a snippet of vellum, scribbled the same previous pinks & greens. Had to go to darker shades to get something dark enough when punched, that it would show up. Stayed in the pink & green family though. Punched with a multi size MS punch. The lower butterflies are covering up a smudge so just added the top 2 for balance. Pearl bodies.

- snippet grass die cut from an Impression Obsession die, top layer mounted on foam tape to create some depth.

- S/B curved bracket for the cutout and a lavender snippet taped under this so that the white card base would not show.

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- the card front is from a 6x6 Colorbox pack found in Walmart, and it had lots of bright spring colors. I can't resist paper, so it came home. Will add the appropriate die cut sentiment at the bottom edge as needed.

No new papers were harmed in the making of this card, but a few snippets did get used up. So off to the Snippet Playground I will go. Week 122 is still open for 14 more hours. Don't you want to come along for a visit?

5/01/2014

Hi ya on a lovely sunny spring afternoon here in Upstate South Carolina. Hopefully the storm danger from this last weather front has passed our area & surely hope if you have any threats in your part of the world, that you & your loved ones stay safe.

Big warm welcome to a new follower, Miss Ileana of Sparkling Pink. Please do stop by Ileana's lovely blog and leave some love. She has a gorgeous glamorous butterfly card shared today (thanks to the latest Butterfly Challenge) - which is another lovely place to visit & perhaps submit a card.

Today's card:

- Unknown image found in the recent snippet cleanup. Believe this was stamped long ago from a borrowed stamp, when I was still going to a Thursday stamping group. The little bunny would have been a cute Easter card, yes? (But now he's a Spring Bunny). Colored with Copics - think this is Neenah paper. Die cut the bunny with MFT Die Namic pierced oval stax. MS white flocking on his tail, and WoStella* on the flower. Used Colorless Blender to wet an old chenille sweater and dabbed around on the gray to create more 'fur texture' to Bunny's body, but it's not showing up in the photo.

- S/B Card Creator A2 Tranquil Moments dies for the purple & green mats. Used gold pearls to bring out the flower center. I am really loving these new 2014 S/B dies, but I'm not so loving the higher prices. Which is why I'm trying to find them on sale at some of the daily deal sites mentioned in earlier posts.

Saw a neat Scrap Made Simple Youtube (#97) with a new-to-me product called Wink of Luna. You have to zip by the beginning blah-blah to get to the marker demos, but the pens looked like a wonderful tool to add to your supplies. I googled WoLuna, and most places that yielded a hit - were Out of Stock. SMS has them, but I found one other place that had a better price: http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ . Have an order placed, and will let you know my opinion on these as soon as I get one in my hot little hands. Just doing my bit to enable all who need help with this! LOL.

In the meantime, have a wonderful afternoon. Enjoy whatever it is that you may be doing today; God Bless, and Many Hugs. Thanks for stopping in to chat!